What to expect
We are going in July. I have a couple of questions about it. Do they give you a lei when you arrive or do we need to arrange that ourselves? Also, does anyone know about booking the helicopter ride? What company did you use and do you have hotel pick up? Thanks!
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Just came back on Friday. Tauck will arrange to meet you at the airport with a lei greeting. Your Tauck Director will arrange the helicopter ride on Kauai. I think the name of the company is Blue Hawaiian but not sure. Any other helicopter ride on another island you have to book yourself.
You will be in good hands with Tauck!
You'll get more leis than you know what to do with.
Last Sept, the included helicopter flight on Kauai was provided by Blue Hawaiian, the same company provided the helos for the optional flight on the Big Island. 1st class outfit, excellent pilots, and very nice helos with excellent bubble canopies. Seating is 3 in front (one is the pilot) and 4 in back in slightly elevated "theater style" seats. The front two seats are the best, but all seats are good (they assign seats by weight but I was in the front on both flights.
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Unless things have changed, you book the optional helo flight with Tauck when you book the tour. The amount will be shown on your Summary of Purchase and payment will be made to Tauck when you pay for the tour. Tauck provides transport to the airports. Any other helo flights you might want to take you must book on your own.
Our hotel on the Big Island as viewed from the helo. FYI, the cloud deck was too low so we couldn't get a bird's eye view of the Kīlauea volcano- we were there just a few days before the eruption!
Kauai:
Natural arch on the Na Pali coast (Filming location for Pirates of the Caribbean.)
Alan - In the photo in front of the helicopter, your shirt is very Magnumesque (not red, but very Aloha). Did you get to drive Ferraris as well? 😁
In regards to the helicopter flight on the Big Island this is what is mentioned in my digital Green Book:
Please Note: For guests who are interested in booking a morning helicopter tour independently,
you are welcome to arrange it through our trusted partner, Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, directly at
808-886-1768. Please note transportation is not included and must be arranged through the
hotel concierge. This can be done directly with the hotel concierge when you arrive at the hotel.
https://www.bluehawaiian.com/en/bigisland/tours/big-island-spectacular
Evidently the procedure has changed. It was expensive but worth it. It is not walkable, but the helo airstrip is only 8 min. by car from the Fairmont Orchid where we stayed.
Sam, I have a red "Magnum" one and others as well, but no Ferrari.
One more thing, at the end of the tour, instead of flying home from Maui which would have required a stop on the West Coast and smaller planes, we first flew back to Oahu on Hawaiian Air and flew non-stop from there to Atlanta in Business Class with sleeper seats. If you do the same, get seats on the left side of the plane for excellent parting views of Honolulu, Waikiki, and Diamond Head.
Just a heads up on Hawaiian Air. They were bought by Alaskan after a long period of financial losses. We fly them frequently and hoping the aloha spirit continues and Alaskan runs it separately. But the combination of companies has been bumpy with many flights eliminated, particularly direct flights HI to mainland. We will be flying to Kona in 2 weeks and have had our flights changed several times. This includes a change of aircraft. See this from a newsletter (not airline affiliated) today:
With just over a month left before Hawaiian Airlines ceases to exist as a separate operational entity, the airline has filed its fourth round of job cuts since Alaska Air Group’s $1.9 billion acquisition closed. Forty-eight additional nonunion positions at the Koapaka Street headquarters, the Elliott Street cargo hangar, and Terminal 2 at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport will be eliminated in May and June.
I’ll report back if things go sideways.
For our long haul flights from/to the mainland we flew Delta. We just used Hawaiian for the 40 min. flight from Maui to Oahu. A flight leaves every 30 min. or so. They are about the only carrier between islands. Tauck uses Hawaiian for the 3 on-tour flights.
Here's a good article about what the locals expect: https://www.gohawaii.com/trip-planning/travel-tips/responsible-travel